Do Alzheimer's Medications Work, Who Should Take Them?
Over the years my clients have asked me, “Should my loved one be taking any of the Alzheimer’s medications?”
By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room
Over the years my answer has differed depending on how much I knew about the medications, the relative costs of the medications, and how much research has been done on the effectiveness of the medications. Here is what I’m saying currently.
There are only 5 medicines that the FDA has approved for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
None of the medications cure the disease. None of the medications stop the disease process from continuing on long term,...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - April 15, 2013 Category: Dementia Authors: Bob DeMarco Source Type: blogs
GSK's shame that is Paxil Study 329 - BBC
Hat tip: http://1boringoldman.com/ (Source: PharmaGossip)
Source: PharmaGossip - April 4, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs
Drug News in Brief
Short takes on matters various.
Taking Aim at Pot—Researchers have recently made clinical efforts to test three drugs that might help during marijuana withdrawal to keep pot abstainers on the straight and narrow. Researchers at Columbia University, led by Margaret Haney, have been testing a synthetic THC compound called nabilone. The drug is designed to address sleep and appetite problems during withdrawal. Whether it is any better tolerated by users than Marinol, Uncle Sam’s widely unpopular version of synthetic THC, remains to be seen. This approach can be viewed rather like methadone or buprenorphine substitu...
Source: Addiction Inbox - March 20, 2013 Category: Addiction Authors: Dirk Hanson Source Type: blogs
Unreported Drug Side Effects Discovered by Analysis of Google Big Data
Discussion about Big Data; Relevance for Healthcare). The key aspect of such Google research is understanding how to interpret search engine queries. Here's a graph of the search term gonorrhea from Google Trends with volume peaking in October, 2010. A correlation with relevant news headlines is also provided. (Source: Lab Soft News)
Source: Lab Soft News - March 14, 2013 Category: Pathologists Authors: Bruce Friedman Tags: Electronic Medical Record Healthcare Information Technology Medical Consumerism Medical Research Pharmaceutical Industry Source Type: blogs
Rosenberg and Pringle , what a team!
Selling Marked Up Drugs with Made Up Patients-- Part Two
by Martha Rosenberg and Evelyn Pringle
No drug ads or Pharma sponsors dot the website of the Child & Adolescent Bipolar Foundation which has renamed itself the Zen-like "Balanced Mind Foundation." (Meditation/medication--same idea, right?) Instead, visitors to the site will find slick slide shows, tales of children saved by bipolar drugs and a list of donor families. But according to the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry the actual guidelines the Balanced Mind Foundation uses to discern bipolar disorder in children and adolescents ...
Source: PharmaGossip - February 18, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs
Medications that Increase the Risks of Patient Falls
Falls are the leading cause of both fatal and non-fatal injuries for adults 65 and older.
Alzheimer's Reading Room
“Falls are the leading cause of both fatal and non-fatal injuries for adults 65 and older, and research suggests that those taking four or more medications are at an even greater risk than those who don’t – perhaps two to three times greater,” said Susan Blalock, Ph.D., an associate professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy.
In 2007, more than 21,700 Americans died as a result of falls and more than 7.9 million were injured by a fall including over 1.8 million older adults who had a fall-rela...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - February 14, 2013 Category: Dementia Authors: Bob DeMarco Source Type: blogs
Withdrawal from Psychiatric Meds Can Be Painful, Lengthy
This article was edited to clarify a few sentences on Feb. 14, 2013.
References
Kotzalidis, G.D. et al. (2007). The adult SSRI/SNRI withdrawal syndrome: A clinically heterogeneous entity. Clinical Neuropsychiatry: Journal of Treatment Evaluation, 4, 61-75.
Nielsen, M., Hansen, E.H., & Gøtzsche, P.C. (2012). What is the difference between dependence and withdrawal reactions? A comparison of benzodiazepines and selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors. Addiction, 107, 900-908.
Therrien, F. & Markowitz, J.S. (1997). Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and withdrawal symptoms: A review of the literature...
Source: World of Psychology - February 13, 2013 Category: Psychiatrists and Psychologists Authors: John M. Grohol, PsyD Tags: Antidepressant Antipsychotic General Medications Policy and Advocacy Psychiatry Research Treatment Caffeine Stimulants Celexa Cymbalta Discontinuation Fluoxetine Hand Experience Hyperactivity Illicit Drugs Lengthy Time Le Source Type: blogs
An epic fail when it comes to mental health
Sometimes the health care system just does not work.I had seen him one week earlier on a Friday afternoon, accompanied by his estranged wife. They were there because of concern about increased depression. He told me that he had stopped taking his lithium and paroxetine (Paxil) several months earlier because he felt they weren’t working. He also readily admitted to having returned to the habit of drinking one or two six-packs daily and more on weekends several months before the medications stopped working.Continue reading ... Manage your online reputation: A complete social media guide. Read the book by KevinMD. (Source:...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - February 11, 2013 Category: Family Physicians Tags: Physician Psychiatry Source Type: blogs
Avandia - Glaxo resists UK claims despite settlement with victims in US
Families face battle with GSK over dangerous diabetes drug
Tuesday 29 January 2013 21.04 GMT
Sarah Boseley, health editor
Thousands of families in the UK could be deprived of compensation for the death or harm of a relative caused by the diabetes drug Avandia, even though the British maker has agreed to pay billions of dollars to settle similar claims in the US.
The licence for Avandia was revoked in Europe, in September 2010, because of evidence that it could cause heart failure and heart attacks. The drug can still be prescribed in the US, but not to patients at risk of heart problems.
A scientist with the Food and ...
Source: PharmaGossip - February 11, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs
CorpWatch : Medical Trial Data Activists Score Win Over Glaxo
Pills. Photo: e-magineart.com. Used under Creative Commons licenseAll data on completed medical experiments are to be made available to the general public by GlaxoSmithKline, the biggest UK pharmaceutical company. The announcement is a major win for the AllTrials campaign mounted by healthcare activists as well as researchers that has gathered widespread support. “There is a fundamental lack of scientific progress because clinical trial evidence is being withheld,” Carl Heneghan, the director of the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine at the University of Oxford said when the campaign was launched last month. “The mis...
Source: PharmaGossip - February 8, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs
Is there a cure for corporate crime in the drug industry? - BMJ
Editorial
Effective enforcement of regulations requires more resources and determination to impose robust sanctions
Nearly 30 years ago, Braithwaite’s Corporate Crime in the Pharmaceutical Industry showed that unethical and corrupt behaviour was endemic in the sector. Sadly, there is growing evidence that little has changed. Recent research suggests that violation of the law continues to be widespread. Most new medicines offer little or no therapeutic advantage over existing products, so promotion plays a huge role in achieving market share. In a crowded and competitive marketplace the temptation for companies to resort to mislea...
Source: PharmaGossip - February 8, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs
Hey GSK - what's a weekend boondoggle?
Louisiana attorney general files second suit against GlaxoSmithKline over off-label drug use
GlaxoSmithKline allegedly marketed nine drugs illegally for uses that have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and provided doctors with "consulting fees," expensive meals and "weekend boondoggles" to convince them to prescribe those brands, according to a lawsuit filed this week by Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell. These practices cost the state's Medicaid and medical assistance programs millions of dollars and subjected patients to "non-approved, ineffective and unsafe uses" of the drugs, according to ...
Source: PharmaGossip - February 7, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: insider Source Type: blogs
Drugs for Diabetes Pain
By David Spero
Pain researcher Rebecca Sudore, MD, says, "Adults living with Type 2 diabetes are suffering from incredibly high rates of pain, at levels similar to patients living with cancer." Sounds awful. But what can we do about it? Actually, quite a bit.
Let's look at medications first. Because chronic pain involves emotions, thoughts, stress, general health, and the entire body, there are at least six different categories of drugs that can help with pain. They include: narcotics, anxiolytics (“tranquilizers"), antidepressants, anti-inflammatories, medicines for seizures, and alternative treatments.
With all tho...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - February 6, 2013 Category: Diabetes Authors: David Spero Source Type: blogs
The Antidepressant Era: the movie
No apologies here, this article (and videos) have been lifted straight from David Healy’s excellent website.
It’s important that as many people as possible have the chance to read the piece and take time to watch the film.
As far as the pharmaceutical industry is concerned, I can tell you from first hand experience that the industry still believes in its own hype… do more, feel better and live longer is Glaxo’s strapline and no one in that company thinks there’s even a hint of irony in that.
Now for Dr Healy’s piece:
The Antidepressant Era: the movie
The Antidepressant Era was written i...
Source: seroxat secrets... - February 3, 2013 Category: Mental Illness Authors: admin Tags: Drug Marketing Glaxo Uncategorized Big Pharma GlaxoSmithKline Source Type: blogs
Pfizer, Zoloft And The Vexing Placebo Effect
In an unusual gambit, a California woman has filed a lawsuit claiming that the Zoloft antidepressant sold by Pfizer is no more effective than a placebo and that the drugmaker conspired to hide this fact from the medical community and the public in hopes of generating as many sales as possible. For its part, Pfizer contends that studies have shown that Zoloft is effective and maintains the lawsuit is frivolous.
The lawsuit was filed by Laura Plumlee, who maintains that Zoloft failed to help her during three years of treatment. She argues that most clinical trials that were designed to substantiate effectiveness demonstrated...
Source: Pharmalot - February 1, 2013 Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Ed Silverman Tags: Uncategorized 60 Minutes Antidepressants GlaxoSmithKline Paxil Pfizer Placebo Effect Zoloft Source Type: blogs
